Bank of Russia adds Sberbank to its crypto exchange register: what customers can do from December 1

What the Bank of Russia decided

Interfax reported the decision on October 12, citing the regulator's website: the Bank of Russia, the country's central bank, entered Sberbank into its register of digital currency exchange operators, along with the bank's right to carry out this activity. The bank said the status will let it organize digital currency transactions in the interfaces its customers already use.

This is Sber's second status in a week. On October 6 the bank became the first in Russia to join the register of digital depositories. The Bank of Russia has explained the difference between the two this way:

• an exchange operator buys and sells digital currency in its own name and at its own expense, outside organized trading;
• a digital depository keeps records of digital currencies and digital rights, transfers them, and gives the customer access to the addresses where their assets are recorded.

The register of exchange operators now lists nine organizations. Besides Sber, it includes VTB, T-Invest Lab from the T-Technologies group, and Professional Bank, which was added on October 8. The register of depositories has five members, among them VTB and Atomyze. The regulator has been accepting applications since October 5, and existing financial market participants can use a simplified procedure: status by notification within one day.

Until now, buying bitcoin in Russia was possible only outside the banks: on a foreign trading platform, from a private seller or through a crypto exchange service. The law "On Digital Currencies and Digital Rights", in force since September 1, 2026, lets banks, brokers and exchanges into this market for the first time.

What Sber promises its customers

The first products are scheduled for December 1, 2026. Here is what the bank has said so far:

• transactions will appear in SberBank Online, SberInvestments and SberBusiness;
• the bank is now testing trades in bitcoin, ether, USDT and, according to its press office, other popular crypto assets;
• cryptocurrency can be exchanged for rubles, and the bank's digital depository will hold it;
• SberInvestments will get wallets for digital currencies.

The bank showed what the service looks like for an ordinary customer at the SberInvestments forum. Back in July, Alexander Vedyakhin, first deputy chairman of the executive board, described the depository's role like this: keeping records of customers' rights to cryptocurrency and carrying out operations on active wallets.

The date comes with a caveat. Sber says plainly that the exact timing depends on when the regulator's rules take effect, and that the Bank of Russia will set the final list of coins.

For companies, part of the service already works. Since September 1, Sber has been handling cross-border settlements in cryptocurrency for corporate clients: according to Vedomosti, a transfer takes minutes and the average cost of a deal is 0.3%.

Which coins and what limits

In August the Bank of Russia named the first cryptocurrencies for trading in Russia: bitcoin, ether and USDT. It picked the assets with the largest market cap. The terms depend on the investor's status:

Two more rules apply to everyone. Paying for goods and services with cryptocurrency inside Russia is still not allowed. Exporters and importers, however, may use it to settle foreign trade contracts.

What is still unknown

The list of open questions is longer than the list of answers:

• whether you will be able to withdraw the coins you buy to your own wallet, and on what terms: the bank's statements say nothing about it;
• what the fee will be and how the bank will calculate the rate;
• which coins will make the final list;
• whether the service will really start on December 1.

USDT raises a question of its own. Andrey Tugarin, a lawyer at GMT Legal, told Kommersant that this stablecoin is the most dangerous asset from a sanctions standpoint: the issuer can freeze it at an address without a court ruling. Sberbank has been under US blocking sanctions since April 2022. How exactly the issuer blocks addresses is clear from a recent case, when Tether froze USDT in THORChain vaults.

What will change in the market by July 2027

A transition period is under way, and the main restrictions come later:

• from July 1, 2027, cryptocurrency deals in Russia must go only through organizations listed in the Bank of Russia's registers;
• from the same date, banks must refuse to top up customers' wallets on foreign platforms and will not be able to directly accept rubles earned there from selling cryptocurrency;
• illegally organizing the circulation of digital currency becomes a criminal offense.

Sber will not be alone in this market. Moscow Exchange, according to its representative Boris Blokhin, is preparing to open cryptocurrency trading on the same December 1 and is already testing it with professional participants.

The bank is looking beyond exchange as well. In August, Anatoly Popov, deputy chairman of the executive board, said Sber wants to accept bitcoin, ether and USDT as loan collateral if the regulator allows it, and the bank ran a pilot deal secured by mined bitcoin back in December 2025. Korea's Jeonbuk Bank launched a similar product this week: we covered its won loan backed by bitcoin.

Bank or your own wallet: what is the difference

Buying through a bank has clear strengths: a familiar app, rubles from your own account and a seller supervised by the regulator. The price is clear too: full identification, testing, an annual limit for non-qualified investors, and coins recorded in your name at a depository.

A depository record and coins at your own address work differently. In the first case you manage the asset through the bank and by its rules. In the second the keys are yours, and a transfer does not depend on anyone's business hours. Our guide to custodial and non-custodial wallets covers this in more detail, and we compared the ways to buy in our article on instant exchange vs exchange vs DEX.

How to buy bitcoin without registration and receive it in your own wallet

On VertEXchange, you exchange cryptocurrency without an account, email or phone number. You choose a pair, paste your wallet address, and see the rate and the amount you will receive before you send anything. The coins go straight to your address: VertEXchange does not store them, so the keys stay with you alone.

• The fixed rate holds for about 15 minutes while the transfer is being confirmed.
• You can set a refund address: the coins go back there if the exchange does not go through.
• Personal fields of the transaction are deleted 24 hours after it is completed.
• A support chat is on every page, and questions are handled by exchange code.

The most common scenario here matches the Bank of Russia's list: swapping a stablecoin for bitcoin. You can exchange USDT TRC20 to BTC without registration in a single transfer. If you need ether, there is a pair where you can buy Ethereum with USDT TRC20 straight to your own address.

FAQ

When can you buy crypto at Sberbank?

The bank names December 1, 2026, with a caveat: the exact timing depends on when the Bank of Russia's rules take effect.

Which cryptocurrencies will Sber offer?

The bank is now testing transactions in bitcoin, ether and USDT. The Bank of Russia will set the final list.

How much crypto can a non-qualified investor buy in Russia?

Up to 300,000 rubles a year per intermediary, and only after passing a test. Qualified investors have no limit, but testing is required for them too.

Can you pay with cryptocurrency in Russia?

No. Paying for goods and services with cryptocurrency inside the country remains banned. Settlements under foreign trade contracts are allowed.

Can you withdraw coins bought at Sber to your own wallet?

Not known yet. The bank has spoken about storage in its digital depository and about wallets in SberInvestments, but it has not published terms for withdrawals to an external address.

Who else has received exchange operator status?

The Bank of Russia's register lists nine organizations, among them VTB, T-Invest Lab and Professional Bank.